Which price is used? Most calculations use the spot price. The World Gold Council uses the LBMA Gold Price PM, which is why its own valuation — $29tn at end-Q2 2026 — reflects an earlier, lower price than today's.
Gold's market capitalization is calculated with a simple formula:
Applied to current data:
222,600 tonnes (World Gold Council, end-Q2 2026) × 32,150.75 troy ounces per tonne = 7.16bn troy ounces 7.16bn troy ounces × $4,345.55/oz (Trading Economics, 11 September 2026) ≈ $31.1 trillion
Published figures for the market capitalization of gold range from about $28tn to $34tn, depending on which above-ground stock estimate a source uses and which date it prices that stock at.
|
Year |
Above-ground stock (t) |
Average price ($/oz) |
Market cap |
Change |
|
2015 |
186,700 |
1,160 |
$6.96tn |
— |
|
2016 |
190,040 |
1,251 |
$7.64tn |
+9.8% |
|
2017 |
193,480 |
1,257 |
$7.82tn |
+2.3% |
|
2018 |
197,000 |
1,269 |
$8.04tn |
+2.8% |
|
2019 |
200,600 |
1,393 |
$8.98tn |
+11.8% |
|
2020 |
204,100 |
1,770 |
$11.61tn |
+29.3% |
|
2021 |
205,238 |
1,799 |
$11.87tn |
+2.2% |
|
2022 |
208,874 |
1,800 |
$12.09tn |
+1.8% |
|
2023 |
212,582 |
1,941 |
$13.27tn |
+9.7% |
|
2024 |
216,265 |
2,386 |
$16.59tn |
+25.1% |
|
2025 |
~219,900 |
3,432 |
$24.26tn |
+46.3% |
|
Sept 2026 |
222,600 |
4,346 |
≈$31.10tn |
+28.2% |
Source: stock — World Gold Council (2021–2024 and Q2 2026 published estimates; 2015–2020 reconstructed from cumulative mine production, approximate). Prices — annual averages for completed calendar years; September 2026 uses the cited September spot/reference price. Past changes don't indicate future performance.
|
Gold price |
Market cap (222,600t) |
|
$3,500/oz |
$25.1tn |
|
$4,000/oz |
$28.6tn |
|
$4,346/oz (September 2026) |
$31.1tn |
|
$4,500/oz |
$32.2tn |
|
$5,000/oz |
$35.8tn |
|
$5,589/oz (January 2026 record) |
$40.0tn |
Source: calculated at a fixed stock of 222,600 tonnes (World Gold Council, end-Q2 2026). Record price — Trading Economics. Arithmetic outcomes, not price projections.
Every $100 move in the gold price changes gold's market capitalisation by about $0.72 trillion.
|
Asset |
Market cap |
Relative to gold |
|
Global debt securities (2025) |
$160.7tn |
517% |
|
Global equity markets (2025) |
$157.8tn |
507% |
|
Gold |
≈$31.1tn |
100% |
|
NVIDIA |
$5.3tn |
17.1% |
|
Apple |
$4.9tn |
15.7% |
|
Silver |
$3.7tn |
11.8% |
|
All cryptocurrencies |
$2.7tn |
8.8% |
|
Bitcoin |
$1.6tn |
5.0% |
Source: gold — calculated above. NVIDIA, Apple, silver — Infinite Market Cap, September 2026. All cryptocurrencies, bitcoin — CoinGecko, September 2026. Global equities (+18.9% y/y) and debt securities (+10.6% y/y) — SIFMA Capital Markets Fact Book, 2025.
Gold's market cap is around 20 times bitcoin's, 11 times the entire cryptocurrency market, and 8.5 times silver's. Against whole markets rather than individual assets, gold's market capitalisation is about a fifth the size of global equities and global debt.
|
Category |
Tonnes |
Share |
Value at $4,345.55/oz |
|
Jewellery |
99,700 |
44.8% |
$13.9tn |
|
Bars and coins |
47,800 |
21.5% |
$6.7tn |
|
Central banks |
39,000 |
17.5% |
$5.5tn |
|
Industrial and other stocks |
22,100 |
9.9% |
$3.1tn |
|
Over-the-counter investment |
10,000 |
4.5% |
$1.4tn |
|
Gold ETFs |
4,000 |
1.8% |
$0.6tn |
|
Total |
222,600 |
100% |
≈$31.1tn |
Source: World Gold Council, end-Q2 2026.
Jewellery accounts for 45% of above-ground gold, investment forms (bars, coins, ETFs) for 23%, and central banks for 17.5%. Gold ETFs — the most actively traded slice — hold only 1.8% of the total stock behind gold's market capitalisation.
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